John Galliano Site

‘The Host’s’ Diane Kruger on a sci-fi fashion kick
Actress Diane Kruger is considered one of the world’s most well-dressed women. She makes a statement just about every time she walks a red carpet.

Kruger, who stars opposite Max Irons and Saoirse Ronan in “The Host,” has been busily promoting the new film, which is set to hit theaters Friday. She is proving once again she’s the fashion-forward trendsetter to watch this season.

For the film’s L.A. premiere, Kruger opted for a black dress with floral appliques and sheer side panels from the Thakoon Spring 2013 collection. She borrowed from her film character, The Seeker, in adopting a futuristic style with a pair of two-tone metallic Jimmy Choo Malika booties, metallic silver nails and Firework white-diamond earrings by Stephen Webster.
For a similar mixed texture look, get the Dolce Vita Valentina dress with lace from Shopbop.com for $275, the Catherine Malandrino black lace paneled silk dress from Stylebop.com for $187 or the For Love & Lemons LuLu dress in black floral lace from ShopTheTrendBoutique.com for $129.

The Michael Antonio Mauldin ankle boot from Amazon.com for $97.50 has a platform heel and metallic strips for a bit of sci-fi kick, and the crystal wing earrings from NastyGal.com for $25 add some sparkle.

Happy shopping!Have an outfit you’re dying to buy but need a frugal alternative? Email us a picture. We’re up for the challenge.

Japan to help India with fashion trends.
Indian apparel makers are seeking the help of Japanese designers to keep up with the fast-changing fashion trends in the land of the rising sun.
Under a tie-up between the textile industries of the two countries, Japanese fashion designers will offer colour and fabric forecasts to help Indian apparel exporters understand Japan’s changing styles in clothing.
“Fashion trend in Japan changes every 40 days. It is not just the pricing that works in Japan, but also the color and design for that particular season,” said Vijay Mathur, secretary general of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), which has tied up with Japan Textile Federation for the purpose.

India exported readymade garments worth $11.5 billion in the 11 months to February, down 7.6% from $12.46 billion in the year-ago period. In the in the first nine months of the fiscal, exports to the EU and the US were down 21% and 8.4%, respectively.

In 2012, India’s apparel exports to Japan stood at $293 million, up 7% from a year-ago. The figure also marked a slight improvement in India’s share in Japan’s total apparel imports in 2012 at 0.91%.

Indian exporters are keen to leverage on the India-Japan FTA signed in 2011, which allows duty-free exports to Japan.

They also see an entry into the Japanese market as a way of cutting down dependence on China.”By the time our exporters ship the ready-made garments, they are already out of season in Japan,” Mathur said.

Ajay Sahai, director-general and CEO of the Federation of Indian Exports Organisaton, said, “The country appears the most promising among the new markets being considered.”

The tie-up is also seen benefiting Japan, as it too is keen on diversifying its sourcing basket to cut dependence on China.

“Japan was never really comfortable sourcing from China, but did not have much choice,” Sahai added. Kenneth Christopher, CEO of Ludhiana-based RB Knit Exports, said his company is awaiting the arrival of the Japanese delegation.

They don’t come sweeter than lucky number Sevyn. Once Sevyn Streeter’s debut single, “I Like It” hit our radar, it was on constant repeat. From her fierce dance moves to her fab fashion, we just had to learn more about pop’s new girl on the block. We caught up with the talented Atlantic artist, and she’s got a blend of Aaliyah and vintage Janet Jackson, with a modern twist that’s all her own. But she’s far from the standard studio creation. Sevyn is an accomplished songwriter, and most recently co-wrote Chris Brown‘s new retro-R&B single, “Fine China.”

The girl also has some serious style! In her debut video, she rocks everything from an Opening Ceremony Neoprene top and Jordans, to Jean Paul Gaultier leggings and Giuseppe Zanotti heels. Peep it here!
The songwriter also uses her style to tell a story. In this StyleBlazer exclusive, Sevyn shares her seven favorite finds in her closet. Get to know her!

Leather pants
“I wear them, I switch them out so many different ways, they’re probably tired of me. But I love wearing them. I can wear them with a tank, a basic little skinny black tank and call it a day. And maybe some just really cute open toe sandals, and that works. When it’s colder, I’ve worn them even with my thigh-high black Louboutin boots. I pull them over and it just looks really clean. I wear them so many different ways.”

Combat boots
“I have a pair of combat boots that I swear by. I have worn them with black mini dresses, or I wear them with sweatpants in rehearsals. I actually tore the bottom sole, and I love them so much I just went and got them fixed, I just couldn’t throw them away. They look kind of rugged because I dance in them but I just refuse to get them shined up. I don’t want to get them shined up. I love them the way they are. They have so much character, so much life. They tell a story.”

At the previous winter edition of the Gallery Int. Fashion Fair there was not only a prevailing and exceptionally positive vibe but the fair also counted a record number of visitors. No less than 12684 (!) to be precise and that means an increase of 10% compared to the winter edition in February 2012. Yet just as important, the good spirit seems to have returned and trade appears to be on the rise again. Positive reports from Copenhagen…

Emerging markets
Gallery was able to welcome buyers from across the whole world. Scandinavian visitors are of course predominant, but the increasing numbers of buyers from the emerging markets of China, Japan and Russia are an incredibly positive development for the Copenhagen Fashion Week. These growing numbers are also partly due to Danish Fashion & Textile, the organisation behind the successful marketing campaigns in these lucrative, growing markets. But of course, the most important reason for the record numbers remains the exceptional and creative mix of design driven labels that once again provided the Gallery fair floor with a fantastic buzz.

Included among the visitors to Gallery were buyers from Isitan, Asos, Net a Porter, Zalando, Colette, LuisaViaRoma, Liberty, Lafayette, Barneys and Takashimaya and Alter Style from Shanghai. So, not the smallest of names….and of course, buyers from wonderful boutiques from across the globe made the success of the Copenhagen Fashion Week complete.

The organisation also positively reviews the fair. “I can’t remember ever having spoken to so many exhibitors before” said Christian Gregersen, CEO at Gallery. “We have had three fantastic days and will of course do everything we can to improve the buzz at Gallery even further…”

Kylie Jenner walks in Avril Lavigne’s New York Fashion Week show.

Singer Avril Lavigne and Brody Jennermay have broken up, but Jenner’s sis Kylie walked the runway to model Lavigne’s Abbey Dawn clothing line on Monday at New York Fashion Week. Only 48 hours after Diane von Furstenberg’s runway show at New York Fashion Week garnered mixed reviews, creative director Yvan Mispelaere abruptly departed the label on Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times fashion critic Booth Moore was one of the critics who liked the collection in her review.) Instead of replacing him, Von Furstenberg reportedly plans to direct the staff herself. Seattle-based retailer Nordstrom, which has something of a cult following, plans to open in Canada. Lancome and Origins have both been asked by consumer groups to modify some of their claims about what their products can do. Rapper Chris Brown is sporting a new neck tattoo of a woman’s face that is half-flesh, half-skull. Some people say it bears an eerie resemblance to ex-girlfriend Rihanna after he battered her.Models in Oscar de la Renta’s New York Fashion Week showing of its Spring-Summer 2013 collection wore cotton candy pink and blue extensions in their updos, showing that the trend of pastel hair is here to stay, at least for awhile longer.

Kate Gosselin Takes Runway At New York Fashion Week For Charity.

On Wednesday night, Kate Gosselin will be taking to the runway during New York Fashion Week for a good cause, the “Real Fashion, Real Women” show. Despite her controversial past, show insiders say the new Kate has been nothing but a delight.
“We reached out to Kate’s people, and they came back right away and said yes. She loved it,” the show’s host and organizer, Derek Warburton, tells me. “Kate is so nice, sweet and accommodating and cool. She started writing us directly.”
However, not everything has gone so smoothly. Once word got out that the one-time reality TV mom would be walking in the show, the backlash was immediate, especially on Twitter.
“We have all been in Twitter wars about Kate,” says Warburton. “They were attacking us for having her in the show. I responded saying, ‘Listen, we are not paying her. She is doing this out of the goodness of her heart.’ What’s remarkable is every time we get a nasty tweet about Kate, she writes and apologizes. She doesn’t care about the haters, but she cares about us, the charity. She must have apologized to me five times for what people say about her.”
Warburton promises that Gosselin will be wearing an amazing gown and have great hair.
The “Real Fashion, Real Women” show benefits Bottomless Closet, an organization that helps disadvantaged women become self-sufficient. It will feature 21 “real women” and five celebrity models, as well as professional models. One of the celebs, “Real Housewives of New York City” cast member Aviva Drescher, says she can’t wait to meet Gosselin.

Kate Middleton fashion watch.

The royal couples’ arrival in Singapore has sparked much media frenzy, and as always, it’s the Duchess of Cambridge who snatches the limelight.
Catherine Middleton has always been known for her beauty and her impeccable style and fashion sense. Many have been eagerly “stalking” the royal couple just to see what the Duchess would be wearing.
She arrived yesterday in an elegant pale pink kimono dress with orchid prints, custom-made from the British designer Jenny Packham, matched with an off-white LK Bennet pumps. She changed into a striking purple-cream silk dress by Singapore-born, American-based designer Prabal Gurung for the state dinner in the evening with Lee Hsien Loong and other dignitaries.
Earlier today, she was seen visiting Gardens by the Bay and later the Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus in a demure white broderie anglaise Alexander McQueen skirt suit, paired with the pair of Stuart Weitzman Corkswoon wedges that she is often seen wearing.
In the latest wardrobe update, Kate has slipped into a colourful dress from local fashion label Raoul as she and husband Prince William make their rounds about Strathmore Green in the Queenstown estate, meeting and mingling with local residents. It seems like she’s back in her LK Bennet pumps.
Join us as we keep up with the stunning Duchess and her wardrobe as they make their nine-day Asia-Pacific tour.

Nashua bridal shop opens Curvy Couture boutique to cater to plus-size brides.

Beauty knows no shapes or sizes, and brides come in all of them.
That’s why Barbara Antonacci, owner of Marry & Tux Bridal Shoppe on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, has renovated and expanded her store to launch a new line of bridal gowns called Curvy Couture Wedding Dresses.
In September, the 2,000-square-foot “boutique” addition to the lower level of the two-floor shop will open specifically for women sizes 12-32.
“I’ve spoken to girls on the phone who are intimidated – they’re almost sheepish – to say, ‘I’m plus-sized; do you have anything I can try on?’ ” Antonacci said. “Everybody should be treated the same. When a girl is shopping for pretty much the most important dress she’ll ever wear in her life, she needs to be treated the same way as everybody else.”
With the Curvy Couture addition, buxom beauties will find nearly 150 bridal designs to flaunt their assets.
Size 16 mannequins in the new wing show how different gowns complement different shapes.
“The key is making the bride feel comfortable and making the bride feel special,” Antonacci said, “and making her feel like she has more than two dresses to choose from.”
Assisted by a one-on-one consultant, brides will find a warm, cream-colored escape, complete with three spacious dressing rooms to allow family members to come in and help brides try on different styles.
Each is equipped with mirrors and full-dim, adjustable lighting to show how gowns would look for daytime or nighttime ceremonies, plus private pedestals and chaise lounges.
“We kind of take away the fears of a bride,” Antonacci said. “I hate the idea that, ‘I had to stand next to a skinny size 4 while I tried my dress on,’ or hear, ‘I’m feeling so uncomfortable.’ ”

Marry & Tux has always carried a healthy collection of plus-size gowns, Antonacci said, but over the years, she has heard horror stories from curvaceous women who shopped at the store after months of disappointing searches.
Some women came in tears, Antonacci said, revealing that they had been treated like second-class citizens at some high-end boutiques because of their weight.
“I’ve heard brides say, ‘I was told to come back when I lose 30 pounds,’ ” Antonacci said.
Even worse, sometimes mothers accompanied their daughters, chastising the bride to slim down, Antonacci said.
“It’s really a huge issue,” she said.
To allow healthy-sized brides feel good in their own skin, Antonacci said she has been working on the Curvy Couture concept for years.
Marry & Tux, originally owned by Antonacci’s parents, has been in Nashua since 1976. It spent a number of years at the Odd Fellows building on Main Street before moving to its Daniel Webster Highway location.
Antonacci, an expert seamstress since 18, helped her first curvy client in 1976. The bride was looking to glamorize a plain bridal gown – the only way plus-size dresses came back then, Antonacci recalled.
“She told me, ‘I want to look like every other bride on my wedding day,’ ” Antonacci said. “I said, ‘If you trust me, I can take apart your current dress and put together some lace, some applique and re-create your entire dress. … Once she wore it, she said, ‘I never thought I could be a beautiful bride on my wedding day.’ ”
Years of planning and months of research went into Curvy Couture’s final product, which is set up next to the rest of Antonacci’s bridal inventory.
Several years ago, Antonacci worked for a manufacturer to learn how other New England bridal stores were innovating.
She discovered that a store in Rhode Island was the closest competitor for a full-figured wedding gown line, and has yet to see a single bridal store in the region dedicated solely to busty brides.

Some girls know exactly what their wedding will be like before they even meet the groom. It’s something many of us dream about from a young age and continue to imagine into our more grown-up years. My sister Claire and I would play wedding with our Barbies, stuffed animals, golden retriever Trouble, and even our childhood neighbor, Ronny. We would visit our Grammy, who would buy us bridal magazines from Shop Rite and together rip out pictures of pretty dresses, colorful flowers, and handsome grooms!

But once I met Sean, I stopped all of this pretend planning. Even once I knew he was the one, I was very superstitious about making plans for our future wedding before getting engaged. Now, I know plenty of girls with “someday” Pinterest boards and bookmarked engagement rings—and I definitely don’t judge—but I felt I might jinx myself. So, I shut down the dream wedding part of my brain for a little while.

Not having any pre-conceived ideas for my wedding has made the beginning stages of planning both exciting and difficult. Once we were done basking in the happiness of just being engaged (roughly 24 hours after Sean popped the question!) we looked at each other and said “Now what?”

Sitting at brunch with my parents the morning after Sean’s proposal, they suggested we take a walk around Old City and check out some potential venues. (Do you think they might have been excited?) So with full bellies, we walked to Carpenter Hall, through the Independence Hall Visitors Center, and around the National Constitution Center, just to get the ball rolling.

A week after Sean’s proposal, I had Friday off from work and decided I would spend the day doing venue research online. Having no clue where to start, I printed a list of Philadelphia venues from a wedding website and started Googling them and making calls.

With every phone call I made I learned more about what I should be asking: is there a venue fee? Do you have an onsite caterer or do I bring my own? Is there a bar or is it BYOB? Does your venue provide a wedding coordinator? What’s the deal with parking? And on, and on, and on. My head was spinning with prices and possibilities. By the time Sean got home from work, I was excited and exhausted. I had scheduled some visits for the following weeks, had an inbox full of catering packages to go through, and a budget to create. So this is how brides get stressed?

After visiting a few venues in and around Center City, but not finding one that was just right, I began to get frustrated. Sean saw this and suggested he take a look online to see if he could find a venue we hadn’t thought of. Touting himself as an excellent Googler, Sean sat down and came up with a list of 10 more venues. Feeling discouraged, I picked up the phone and called the first three on his list before apprehensively calling the Down Town Club. From the website I knew the DTC had to be too good to be true: located in Old City (check), historic feel (check), amazing reviews (check). I spoke with Lynn, our wedding coordinator, who emailed me catering information (awesome menu, check) and pricing (within our budget, check!). I immediately called Sean to tell him the news that, barring something horrible, I thought we found our spot!

So I spent hours and hours looking at venues online, sending emails and leaving messages and within 15 minutes of sitting down at the computer, Sean found our wedding reception venue. If I didn’t love him so much, this would drive me crazy (I’m supposed to be the wedding planner in this pair!). But regardless of who found the Down Town Club, it is the place where we will get to celebrate the beginning of our lives together with our family and friends. June 29, 2013 … I can’t wait.

My best advice to other brides-to-be is to sit down with your groom and prioritize what is important to you. For Sean and I, we really wanted a walkable wedding; we wanted to be in the heart of the city; and we wanted a venue that was going to be a one-stop shop: provide catering, tables and chairs, our cake, etc. And we found it.

New York Fashion Week spring-summer 2013: Holmes and Yang.

Coming off her epic split from Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and stylist Jeanne Yang showed their Holmes & Yang spring-summer 2013 collection Thursday, their first time at New York Fashion Week.
The PR team managed to keep the presentation at Lincoln Center low-key, despite being inundated with requests for tickets. Most were turned down and only about 150 people made the cut.
Holmes and Yang circulated through the crowd exchanging “hellos” with editors from Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Tom Cruise’s name did not come up once, and Suri stayed home.

The emphasis was meant to be on the clothes, which were shown on static models positioned in the center of the room.

Yang explained that the focus of the collection is on elevating casual dressing “because looking stylish and casual is often harder than dressing up.” Although the two women launched their label in 2009, and have shown it at low-key presentations before, this is the first time they have shown during fashion week. “It felt like a natural step to have more of an audience now,” said Holmes, who pointed to a nude spider mum print, off-the-shoulder dress, and a quilted leather bomber jacket as her favorite pieces in the collection. “We are proud we make 95% of the collection in New York and the knits in L.A.,” she said. “That was how we began, wanting to use amazing people in America to make our clothes. We’ll see where it takes us.”

Bobbi Brown, who did the makeup for the show and recently named Holmes the face of her brand, was on hand. “I didn’t choose her because she’s a celebrity, I really didn’t,” said Brown, adding that she liked Holmes from the moment they first met over tea a few months ago. “She’s not 20, she has a lot on her plate from acting to design. She was interested in how I balance work and being a mother,” Brown said. “I think she’s a great role model and that women will relate to her.”

The inspiration: Elevating casual dress. Mixing masculine and feminine style.

The look: Relaxed elegance. A black off-the-shoulder dress with hand-painted red spider mums. A louche black beaded strapless jumpsuit worn with a navy cardigan. A buttery suede cape worn with a celadon-colored camisole and red shorts. A leather camisole worn with a maxi skirt. A black leather bra top and men’s pleated trousers under a glazed khaki leather trench coat.

The scene: Controlled and polite.

The verdict: The line may be made in New York, but it has that relaxed L.A. sensibility that really reflects what people wear every day. There’s no reason to think that the line won’t continue to gain momentum now that Holmes has garnered so much goodwill with the public since her split with Cruise. Could Holmes and Yang be the next Row, the line designed by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen? Or the next Victoria Beckham? We’ll see. First, Holmes and Yang have to show us more about what their particular brand of fashion is all about.

Fashion Week: Betsey Johnson Celebrates Her Super Sweet 70th With Cyndi Lauper

Betsey Johnson has always designed for girls who just want to have fun, so who else but Cyndi Lauper would she choose to light up her 70th birthday bash? The three-hour romp at Midtown’s Espace was half runway show, half confetti-filled pop blitz, making it one of the most memorable events yet of the Spring 2013 season. As the grandmother of eccentric prom fashion cartwheeled down the runway, her daughter burst out of a cake while her grandchildren looked on in fascination – all while Lauper warbled her classic hedonistic anthem to the way-over-capacity but jubilant crowd. More than ever, Johnson’s show was like a trip to a cupcake shop and a circus in one, though this season’s display really took the cake (pun necessary).

“I’ve been a Betsey fan since 1980,” Lauper informed the crowd while dressed in a wild Johnson frock. While there’s certainly a irreducible Eighties varnish to all that the designer creates, she’s maintained a hold over young women’s wardrobe imaginations since then. Britney Spears is a fan; Katy Perry, the teenage dream herself, was practically invented to wear Johnson’s creations (and has, often). Last night, even Lil’ Kim – making the rounds this Fashion Week – stopped by to celebrate New York’s kooky fashion queen.

The new collection on the runway explained their fascination with Johnson’s legacy, from her Sixties pop-art roots to present. She continues to design defiantly youthful clothes that echo her own rainbow-brite tastes. Crimped hair, metallic saddle shoes and the too-short, too-vibrant uniforms of schoolgirls-gone-bad dominated the first few looks of Spring 2013′s lengthy collection, but it soon became clear that this season is one of ceremonious pastiche over cohesion. What followed suit was a montage of all the wardrobe risks that have made Johnson famous: wild punk-ballerina looks, Minnie Mouse tributes, electrified bohemian dresses, bits of Western camp, teapot and gun prints. None of it was in good taste, but all of it was fun and everyone witnessing it was having the time of their lives. And in Johnson’s corner of the fashion world, having a good time will always come first.

New York fashion week: the spirit of the city.

Go-faster stripes, block colours and graphic panels have dominated at the first of the fashion weeks.
This summer, London was the centre of the world. Fact. And we loved every minute of it. But guess what? It’s over. Brutal, yes, but these are the fashion pages. Didn’t you know, sugarcoating makes you fat?

Which brings us to New York fashion week, where anyone who’s anyone in the industry – that’s me, Suri Cruise, Ricky Martin – has spent the past few days. Now, there is plenty to gripe about in the fashion-week system. All this environmentally unsound galumphing around the globe is arguably unnecessary in the age of live streaming. The New York-London-Milan-Paris axis of power is surely ludicrously outdated now, when Beijing has three times as many Gucci stores as New York. Not to mention the worst part, which is of course that the packing is an absolute nightmare.

But there is still something very positive to be got out of the fashion circus, because it forces us to see the world through a different lens. Fashion is always about how we feel about ourselves and our lives. The point of wearing actual clothes, rather than swathing yourself in an animal skin, or whatever, is that clothes transform you from your naked, private self to a functioning member of society. So when you are at another city’s fashion week – not just clicking through the photos on style.com but actually there, with their weather and their food and their smells and their news on the radio – it gives you a little peek inside the head of that place. (I think it might be called perspective, except run up in modish chiffon/neoprene blend and with a hefty pricetag.) When you put that together with being able to have bacon and maple syrup for breakfast, you’ve got a pretty compelling argument for New York fashion week, in my book.

Marc Jacobs’s New York catwalk shows are peerless in capturing the spirit of the city. The energy in the audience, and backstage, has to be experienced to be believed: the most talented artists, the most outrageous drag queens, the most beautiful girls. Imagine the Chelsea Hotel lobby in its heyday, updated and live-streamed. If you could bottle the atmosphere in that show, you could sell it, to be dabbed on the wrist like a New York version of Chanel No 5. In the old days, you used to turn up at Jacobs’s shows at the time on the invite, only to be told casually that the shoes hadn’t turned up yet (I always assumed “shoes” was code for “coke”, but let the record state there was absolutely no evidence for this) and that we should go and have a drink and come back in an hour. So an hour later, you’d have an audience pumped on lethal Gramercy Park Hotel martinis, squished up on the bleachers in the half-dark for another hour before the show actually began. All kinds of shenanigans. In the last few years, it has gone the other way: annoyed with people sniping about his tardiness, Jacobs has taken to starting his shows on the dot. Which creates another kind of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it energy that is, in its own way, just as Manhattanesque as the louche scenes of old.

Edie Sedgwick and Warhol’s factory were the key references of Jacobs’s collection this week. Along with Studio 54, another oft-mined fashion reference, the Factory era is shorthand for New York being the centre of the (cool) world. Skirt suits were made sassy by an almost Britneyesque gap between top and bottom half, uniting elements from the 1960s and now. Thick stripes of black and white sequins thundered down the catwalk at such a rate as to turn themselves into Bridget Riley op-art before one’s eyes.

Until a few years ago, New York was the last of the four fashion weeks. Fed up with being accused of plagiarism, and of buyers who had blown their budgets in London, Milan and Paris, the city’s designers jumped to the head of the queue. Since then, the commercial schedule has hastened so that most buying is done before the catwalk shows: the budget issue is for the most part no longer relevant, the plagiarism issue ditto. For an editor, the order poses a problem, because New York is seldom at the forefront of trends. So trying to predict them at this point is like watching the first quarter of the film Memento, and then trying to figure out the plot. There are shards of information that are clearly important, but we don’t yet have the context for them.

That’s my excuse, anyway. If I was to stick my neck out at this point and predict a trend, I might go for T-shirt dresses and graphic panelling. In recent seasons, US and European designers have been running along parallel paths: New York obsessed with sportswear (those omnipresent posh jogging bottoms) and Europe mining the potential of racing-stripe edges and blocks of colour on more tailored clothing. This week, the two seemed to come together: not just at Marc Jacobs, but at 3.1 Philip Lim, at Tommy Hilfiger and Karen Walker. (Dungarees, also. Mark my words.)

Graphic panels and go-faster stripes, put on the fashion map by Phoebe Philo in Paris several seasons ago, were embraced by many New York designers this time. I don’t mean by this to suggest laziness, or copying – no one has intellectual property of the stripe, and Phoebe’s Celine aesthetic references classic American sportswear. What goes around comes around. At Alexander Wang the stripe was more of a slash. At Victoria Beckham it gave a crisp edge to collars and to trouser seams for daytime, and a more risque, lingerie touch to sheer-panelled evening dresses. DKNY showed a strong collection that drew inspiration from its namesake city, with a colour palette that stretched to “black, white, neutrals and flashes of taxi”. Diane von Furstenberg indulged a dreamy, Marrakech-to-Jaipur colour scheme but kept the look bang up to date with crisp ribbons of black edging.

The fashion season is only now hitting its stride – as I write, we haven’t even seen many of the major New York shows. But the early signs seem to be that the gloomy, dark mood that pervaded the previous season has lifted. At Rodarte, dresses constructed around a central breastplate panel reminded me of the gothic mood and obsession with armour that shaped February’s shows – but this time, the breastplates were in mint, or apricot. More like the jolly plumage of a robin, than any kind of defensive statement. That, I think, is cheering news. And you know what’s even better? London fashion week starts tomorrow.

Fashion Week Stargazing: Day 6.

Did Anna Wintour start a trend? Just about everyone, including CNN’s Alina Cho, Allure magazine’s Linda Wells and Simon Collins, the dean of fashion at Parsons The New School for Design, wore dark sunglasses at the 9 a.m. Tory Burch show at Lincoln Center on Tuesday. In truth, it was less a trend than functional accessory. There was the incredible sunlight, which streamed in through an entire wall of windows at Avery Fisher Hall, and, of course, the increasing lack of sleep for Fashion Week attendees.

“It’s already been a heavy week,” said Mr. Collins with black frames on. “So the glasses help face the morning.”

A few rows down, Jordana Brewster was enviably fresh and rested. That’s because the “Dallas” actress had flown in from Los Angeles for only a single day of shows (she later went to Jenny Packham in a sparkly dress and was row-mates with Minka Kelly and Lauren Conrad), Ms. Brewster, who grew up in the city, was also visiting old haunts. “I do miss it, the way you can get anything, anytime,” she said. “I actually had dinner with my high school friends at Serafina last night.”

At Vera Wang, there was a big to-do over a tall, leggy blonde. On closer inspection, it was Stacy Keibler who plastered on a sweet smile through the staccato of flashes. Across the catwalk, another woman, tall, leggy and dark-haired, was commanding equal attention. Who was that? The Chinese actress Yao Chen, her publicist informed the news media, underlining that Ms. Chen was “super, super famous.” A quick Google search showed that indeed Ms. Chen was super, duper famous. She has more than 24 million followers on Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter).

But on the streets of New York, which she called “an energetic and exciting place,” Ms. Chen could still slip by unnoticed. “It’s so freeing,” she said. “I can just relax and be myself.”

Over in West Chelsea, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte had the most sizzling fashion crowd yet. The loft space, which like so many New York apartments required a walk up three flights of stairs, was teeming with Vogue editors from various international editions. Otherwise, indie actresses (Kirsten Dunst) mingled with indie musicians (Joanna Newsom and Victoria Legrand of Beach House).

Ms. Newsom, in a frock by the label, had attended the last four Rodarte shows. “I don’t really go to the other shows,” she said. “Just this one. I normally look at the shows on the Internet in my pajamas.”

It was Ms. Legrand’s first Rodarte runway show, but she was a practiced clotheshorse. “I care,” she said, pointing out her jacket was Comme des Garçons, her skirt vintage Gerard Darel and her new boots by Proenza Schouler. “I have yet to meet the Rodarte girls,” Ms. Legrand said. “But I admire them. I like the way they mix materials, all the textures. They are one of the few designers that is not stale.”

Into the evening Oscar de la Renta, whisked editors up 25 floors for his runway show. The skyscraper was just off Fifth Avenue in Midtown and as guests, including Aerin Lauder and Anna Dello Russo, waited in the lobby for their turn on the elevator, passing businessmen gawked in their blue Oxford shirts and staid suits.

They weren’t the only ones coming from the office. Rachel Zoe ran directly over from the studio, where she had been prepping for her first ever runway show scheduled for the next day. “Oh God, I can’t think too much about it or I’ll have a panic attack,” said Ms. Zoe, in black leather pants and black felt hat. “It’s tricky for me. I’m also here to pull for shoots and the award shows.” (Not to mention, a camera crew that tailed her every move, likely for her reality show.) “But I would never miss Oscar,” Ms. Zoe said. “I met him when I was just starting out.”

While one Kate's keeping mum on who will be designing her wedding dress, another Kate -- Kate Moss, that is -- had come right out and said it. The Telegraph reports that at a Topshop dinner during London Fashion Week, Moss announced that John Galliano would be creating her gown for her big day. Not a big surprise!

Earlier in the week, Vivienne Westwood caused a style stir, telling the Daily Mail that the supermodel would be making the dress herself: "She has done her own fashion range and she knows about clothes. She knows what she is doing, she doesn't need my help."

She might not have needed Viv's help, but she did enlist John...although we are curious as to what bridal attire according to Kate Moss might look like.

Check out Galliano's most wedding-like runway creations and tell us which style would be best for Kate on her big day.

Former Dior designer John Galliano — whose standing in the fashion community crumbled after an alleged Anti-Semetic outburst at a Parisian cafe in February — is speaking out about his collaboration with Kate Moss on her one-of-a-kind chiffon wedding dress, featured in the September issue of Vogue.

In Vogue, the 53-year-old British designer says that dressing the supermodel for her big day rejuvenated his creative power.

“She dared me to be John Galliano again,” he explains to Vogue. “I couldn’t pick up a pencil. It’s been my creative rehab.”

OK! NEWS: KATE MOSS & JAMIE HINCE’S WEDDING (AKA MOSS-STOCK) INVADES SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF VOGUE

Galliano says Kate wanted “a few words, a story to inspire her — she loves a bit of direction!”

“I told her, ‘You have a secret: you are the last of the English roses — and when he lifts your veil he’s going to see your wanton past!”

And Kate maintains that she feels “so comfortable” in his dresses.

“When I put the dress on, I’m really happy. I forget everything,” she gushed.

OK! NEWS: SEE KATE MOSS ARRIVE TO HER WEDDING IN JOHN GALLIANO GOWN!

In June, John testified that he remembers nothing about using anti-Semitic slurs because he suffers from a “triple addiction” to alcohol, barbiturates and sleeping pills.

“After every creative high, I would crash and the alcohol helped me…helped make Dior a billion-dollar business,” he said on the stand.

He was charged with “public insults based on the origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity” against three people, after the Feb. 24, 2011 incident.

OK! NEWS: JOHN GALLIANO’S TESTIMONY — “I HAVE A TRIPLE ADDICTION”

His dismissal from Dior, the fashion house he called home since 1997, came during Paris Fashion Week. His remarks shocked the fashion world and ultimately cost him his job at the renowned French high-fashion house.

If convicted, Galliano could face up to six months in prison and be required to pay $32,175, as French law prohibits public insults toward others because of their origins, race or religion.

John Galliano – one of the most talented designers of our time has collapsed along with his reputation and all his creative work at the bottom of the public opinion. The accusation for anti-Semitic and racial slurs while drunk, has shocked the fashion world. As a result of the situation the fashion house “Dior” eliminated the most creative and brilliant figure in its designers’ team.

Since 1995, Galliano has shown his different faces. He became famous after the appointment as a director in the fashion house “Givenchy” and, especially, after his memorable move to “Dior”. The fashion public enjoyed his models with eccentric, slightly startling appearance, resembling grotesque and his personal, a bit crazy behavior. The way Galliano looked seemed to explain the pieces of his incredible career and his work, completely obscure for the average person.

The scandal, which gained international fame, leaded once again to the collapse of a famous career. The public can do anything but to observe with regret the similar situation, which has already happened to other celebrities in the world like Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson. While Galliano’s lawyer explained he has not made anything insulting, few people would believe in Galliano’s innocence. After the suicide of Alexander McQueen, the dozens of allegations of Naomi Campbell and now the eccentric behavior of “Dior”’s designer, the true face of fashion shows that behind the great successes lie the dark shades of people’s personalities.

The fashion house “Dior” was not the only fashion giant, which has not supported Galliano. Karl Lagerfeld said heavy and sententious words against the culprit and not so much because of his words as for neglecting and irresponsibility of his own image. Lagerfeld underlined, that fashion designers are in the big business world, where everyone has to be very careful, especially in the times of the Internet. Natalie Portman, who became the face of “Dior” and the perfume “Miss Dior Cherie” and for many years maintained a friendship with Galliano, refused to wear a dress of the designer during the Oscar’s ceremony.

However, Roberto Cavalli, stayed behind his colleague, saying that he knows his friend and this is not the way Galliano really thinks. Behind the scenes of the fashion week in Milan, Giorgio Armani said that he regrets for the accused and added, it was a pity that Galliano was not informed about the recorded material. Obviously there will be difficult times fro John Galliano.

ormer Dior designer John Galliano will go on trial on June 22 on charges that he made racist insults, accusations that rocked the fashion world and cost him his coveted job.

Galliano’s downfall began in February when he was detained in a drunken state and questioned about accusations that he hurled anti-Semitic insults at a couple in a Parisian cafe. The couple filed a legal complaint, and another woman then accused him of similar insults.

The Paris court announced the trial date Thursday. Prosecutors have said Galliano could face up to six months in prison and —22,500 ($31,000) in fines, if convicted of “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity.”

Soon after the initial allegations, a video circulated online in which the designer praised Adolf Hitler.

On the eve of Paris Fashion Week, Dior fired Galliano after 14 years with the company and denounced his comments.

Galliano issued a statement at the time saying: “Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologize for my behavior in causing any offense.” Galliano also said he was “seeking help” for his personal failures, without elaborating.

After joining Dior in 1996, Galliano made an indelible mark on the storied house, with theatrical, often outrageous, runway shows that were among the most-anticipated displays on the Paris fashion calendar.

John Galliano is the subject of our first featured fashion designer biography. The British fashion designer was born in Gibraltar in 1960. His family moved to London when he was a child. Galliano later attended the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College of Art & Design, graduating in 1984 with with famed Les Incroyables (The Incredibles) collection, which was inspired by the French Revolution; the collection was immediately met with high acclaim.

On his early influences: “I think all that — the souks, the markets, woven fabrics, the carpets, the smells, the herbs, the Mediterranean colour, is where my love of textiles comes from,” Galliano has said.

Despite launching his own fashion apparel line that same year and winning the British Fashion Designer of the Year award in 1987, John Galliano met with financial hardship. This caused him to leave London for Paris in 1990 where he secured a design contract with Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH).

Later, in 1995, Galliano was appointed chief fashion designer at Givenchy, becoming the first British fashion designer to head a French fashion couture house. He grabbed headlines with a series of risqué designs aimed to transform the profile and fortunes of the back-dated company.

A year later, in 1996, Galliano was awarded the glittering prize of the house of Christian Dior – Givenchy’s stablemate at LVMH. His first couture show for Dior coincided with the label’s 50th anniversary, 20 January 1997.

JOHN GALLIANO (1960-) is one of the most influential fashion designers of our time. Born in Gibraltar, he grew up in London and launched his own label before becoming chief designer of France’s haute couture flagship, Christian Dior, in Paris.

John Galliano has created the most spectacular fashion shows of our time. Since his 1984 degree collection, Les Incroyables, which metamorphosed his London art school into a French Revolutionary street scene, he has transported his privileged audiences to more exotic and sartorially blessed places than they could possibly have imagined or experienced.

Whether he chooses to transform the Opéra Garnier in Paris into a party thrown by the Venetian socialite, Marchesa Luisa Casati, or the none-too salubrious platforms of Gare d’Austerlitz into a Moroccan souk – complete with guest appearance from a couture-clad Princess Pocohontas – Galliano never fails to convince. This despite the fact that his references come from a dizzying array of rarely connected times, people and places. But then, John Galliano’s life has been rather richer than most – more often than not, the vivid colour in his shows have been experienced at source first hand.

He was born in Juan Carlos in 1960 in Gibraltar, his father’s homeland. His mother is Spanish and he first went to school in Spain, reaching it via Tangiers. “I think all that – the souks, the markets, woven fabrics, the carpets, the smells, the herbs, the Mediterranean colour, is where my love of textiles comes from,” Galliano has said. In 1966, the family moved to Streatham in South London, where John’s father worked as a plumber. They then moved to Dulwich, which remains the family home to this day. Galliano attended Wilson’s Grammar School for Boys where his academic performance was, by all accounts, unremarkable. The same cannot be said of his appearance. The young John and his sisters, Rosemary and Immacula, were always dressed in immaculately pressed and starched clothes, even for trips to the corner shop.

“I don’t think people here understood where I was coming from,” he said of his early days in South London. “And I certainly didn’t understand where they were coming from. It was quite a shock coming from that sort of family, that sort of colour. My mother brought it with her on the plane. You know, the religious aspect and all that was still with us when we were at home.” It wasn’t until the 16 year-old Galliano moved to City and East London College to study design, that he discovered the arts and people “a bit more like me”. From there, he went on to Central Saint Martins art school and a star was born. “I worked very hard. I was always in the library – sketching endlessly.”

The inspiration for his first collection came from Danton, a National Theatre production on which he worked part-time as a dresser. There were jackets worn upside down and inside out – this was the early 1980s, deconstruction wasn’t yet part of the fashion vernacular – and romantic organdie shirts, accessorised with everything from magnifying glasses, smashed and worn as jewellery to rainbow-coloured ribbons sewn onto the insides of coats. “I was just so into that collection. It completely overtook me. I still love it. I love the romance, you know, charging through cobbled streets in all that amazing organdie. There are a lot of things in that collection that still haunt me.”

Fashion retailer Joan Burstein was so impressed that she immediately gave the window of Browns, her London store, to the fledgling designer. The clothes flew off the rails. Despite the universal acclaim – even hysteria –in the next decade, not one, but two backers pulled out on Galliano. For several seasons, he couldn’t afford to show. In the early 1990s, disillusioned by the difficulties of running a fashion business in Britain, he moved to Paris. There, Anna Wintour, powerful editor-in-chief of American Vogue, took him under her wing and used her influence to secure him a backer (PaineWebber International) and a venue (São Schlumberger’s chicly crumbling mansion).

The invitation was a rusty key. The supermodels of the day – Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell – modelled for friendship rather than their customary five-figure fees. There were only 17 outfits put together at the last minute – all in black. (A few bolts of black fabric was all Galliano could afford.) But what outfits. The show was a monumental success – John Galliano had sealed his reputation as one of the great designers of his time.

One man who clearly understood Galliano’s genius was Bernard Arnault, chairman of the luxury conglomerate LVMH. By the mid-1990s, Galliano had reinvented the 1930s-line bias-cut dress and made it modern, as well as creating narrow, very feminine tailoring which was the envy of those less gifted. Yet it was still brave of Arnault to decide, in October 1995, to install John Galliano as chief designer of Givenchy. To the French fashion establishment, he seemed like a young upstart. The media was apoplectic and Givenchy hit the headlines. “I really couldn’t tell anyone about it,” recalls Galliano. “Not even my mum and dad. If I told one person, that was it.”

It wasn’t long before more rumours surfaced. Fellow British designer, Alexander McQueen, was to take over at Givenchy, leaving Galliano to move to the much larger and wealthier house – also controlled by Arnault – Christian Dior. Today, John Galliano designs a dozen collections a year. Dior’s flagship boutique in Paris is a veritable superstore where customers queue for everything from couture wedding dresses to shoes, and fragrances: ever-anxious to buy into the image of the house that Galliano has re-created.

This is not surprising because John Galliano is fashion’s great romantic. From his fantastical clothes, to his colourful background, Galliano’s charmed rise to fame reads not unlike a fairy tale. His genius is his ability to communicate this through his clothes. He also has immense ambition. Behind his gentle aesthetic, John Galliano is a powerhouse, a man whose ambition to go down in history as one of fashion’s great is awesome, even intimidating. His long-time creative collaborator Amanda Harlech once described disagreeing with him thus: “I did only once and I can only compare it to being hit by a massive surfing wave. His indifference was absolute.”